Former Iranian official launches ‘Countdown to an Attack on Israel’

An ally of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has launched a "countdown to an attack on Israel" following the Jewish state’s launching of an operation to destroy weapons in Syria last month.

Alireza Forghani, a Khamenei confidant and former governor of Iran’s Kish province, published an article arguing that Tehran and Syria should launch a tag-team attack aimed at the total "eradication [of] Israel from the planet."

"There remains no excuse for not [waging] a total multipartite attack on Israeli soil, with hopes of completely eradicating Israel from the planet (Allah willing)," Forghani wrote, according to a new translation of his Jan. 29 essay by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

"Attacking and completely eradicating Israel from the planet is the only solution to this problem," Forghani wrote. "If this problem isn't resolved with this golden opportunity, it is not known when there may be another."

Iran has provided logistical support for embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as he battles rebel forces and is well positioned to provide more assistance.

"We must equip and upgrade the Syrian forces for the final blow against Israel, [a blow that will continue] until it is totally destroyed," Forghani worte. "We must in no way repeat the mistake of the [last] Gaza [war] – accepting a ceasefire."

"The Israelis and their false governmentmust not be [allowed] to breathe," added Forghani, whose June 2012 essay included the rallying cry, "Atomic bomb now!"

Forghani advocates for a formal Iran-Syria military operation, something Iranian government officials have been hinting at for months.

"Iran will rush to the aid of any country that attacks Israel and ends Israel's story once and for all (with Allah's help)," he wrote. "We must thank Israel's senior commanders … for providing Syria, and of course Iran, with this golden opportunity to attack Israel."

Forghani also said Russia and the terror group Hezbollah are considered Iran’s closest "allies," referring to the Allied Forces of World War II.

"The new Allies are Iran, Russia, Syria, and the Lebanese Hizbullah—countries that, much like the Allies in World War II, are defensive and will deliver the second strike," Forghani wrote. "That is, they will defend [themselves] only after being attacked. These countries can be abbreviated as ‘Risl' (Russia, Iran, Syria, Lebanon)."

Iranian officials have said in the past months that nuclear cooperation with Russia is one of the regime’s top priorities.

Forghani goes on to predict that World War III will soon break out and end in nuclear destruction.

"World War III will erupt … and that game will have no winners," he wrote. "Both sides will lose, because some countries on both sides have nuclear weapons."

Adam KredoEmail Adam | Full Bio | RSSAdam Kredo is senior writer reporting on national security and foreign policy matters for the Washington Free Beacon. An award-winning political reporter who has broken news from across the globe, Kredo’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary Magazine, the Drudge Report, and the Jerusalem Post, among many others. His Twitter handle is @Kredo0. His email address is kredo@freebeacon.com.